Official Secrets has the story and the talent but gets bogged down in the melodrama. It’s not a bad movie, but where it could have been a riveting procedural, it is instead a watered-down look at events that should have caused international outrage. It’s scattered narrative and lack of clear character motivation early on had me on alert, but the film manages enough bite and relevance to keep interests piqued.
For some, the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 may seem like ancient history, but it isn’t and it shouldn’t be. Just prior to the invasion, British government communications expert Katharine Gun leaked a document outlining illegal U.S. government strong-arm tactics and blackmail measures meant to secure U.N. votes in favor of war with Iraq. Not protected under whistleblower laws, Gun was charged with a violation of England’s Official Secrets Act of 1989.
As I said, plenty of story. The film first goes wrong, however, by not explaining Gun’s motivation upfront. I find it hard to believe that one day, out of the blue, she decides to steal classified documents, thus committing treason. Later, once she’s in custody, she expresses her motives in clear, Oscar-bait fashion, but by now it’s too late. Her reasons are just and make sense, but the first we hear of them is an hour after the fact. This choice doesn’t make narrative sense, and worse, it paints Gun (Keira Knightley) as flighty and unintelligent.
Official Secrets works best when it’s embracing its investigative procedural angles such as the London Observer reporters tracking down corroboration of her story. These moments successfully call up great newspaper films like All the President’s Men (1976) and the work of David Simon, but it’s never maintained for long. Gun’s personal experiences certainly deserve to be told, but the film loses sight by jumping back and forth between the micro and macro of the whole story. Add to that the ham-fisted attempts at creating tension (such as the near-deportation of Gun’s husband, played by Adam Bakri) and even more is lost in the shuffle.
Fortunately, what works outweighs what doesn’t. The inquiring newspaper elements are entertaining, and the Observer staff (including Matt Smith, Matthew Goode, and Rhys Ifans) hold up their end of things nicely enough. Knightley is fine as well, if a bit overdramatic at times, but the biggest surprise is the addition of Ralph Fiennes near the end of the film. He classes the place up a bit and offers some unexpected buoyancy to an otherwise grim picture.
Official Secrets is not a must-see film, but it does offer an interesting tidbit of history that none of us would be wise to forget about.
James is a writer, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.